Continuing their drive to support social value in the sector, NHMF frameworx launched a new award at the National Housing Maintenance Forum (NHMF) Conference and Awards in January. The new Frameworx ‘Social Value Project Award’ was won by Peabody with Framework Charity as Highly Commended.
Paul Smith, Head of Frameworx explains more about the awards and winners: “Firstly, I want to say a huge congratulations to Peabody and Framework Charity for their success in our new Social Value Project award, they were both very worthy winners.
“We introduced the social value to the National Housing Maintenance Forum (NHMF) Awards, part of the NHMF Annual Maintenance Conference, to showcase and reward social value initiatives, whether that’s existing, in progress or planned, that deliver real impact for communities. We are a not-for-profit organisation and are committed to reinvesting our surpluses back into the communities in which we work. Social value has always been a critical part of our mission to deliver better framework value and we’re delighted that this year, we’ve been able to give a significant monetary donation as part of the new award.
“The worthy winners of the £10,000 top donation, Peabody, were nominated for the award by Purdy (Part of Sureserve) to highlight the Darwin Court Food Bank. The Purdy team have been involved in the project for a number of years, donating time and resources to this project which has evolved from an underutilised meeting room to a thriving community hub serving 210 registered residents in the Walworth area of the London Borough of Southwark. As well as a “mini-mart” style food bank, the hub also runs a monthly Baby Bank, providing nappies, food and clothing, alongside seasonal initiatives. Our donation is set to help opening hours, invest in more refrigerators and more fresh food and high demand items.
“Framework Charity, who is dedicated to housing and supporting people that are homeless across Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire and Sheffield, was nominated for their Digital Inclusion Project. The project is aimed at empowering individuals who are homeless or at risk of homelessness by providing IT hardware alongside digital training and support, helping them to connect with their local community, reconnect with family and build social connections, ultimately improving quality of life. The highly commended £5,000 donation will help further boost the support and equipment available.
“Both are exceptional projects and powerful examples of social value in action, which we’re incredibly proud to be able to support. The growing potential to give back through Frameworx is really exciting. Our initial intention was to make a £10,000 donation to the winners, but thanks to better year than expected with more and more of the sector choosing to procure through Frameworx, we were able to increase our fund to £15,000 and make a surprise announcement on the night.
“Last year, we donated £2000 at the conference, this year, £15000, and next year, we’re aiming to go even bigger and better, with an additional category for service providers to get involved with the Frameworx ‘Social Value Project’ awards too. More details to be announced in September so keep your eyes peeled!
“In the meantime, we’re planning to visit the Darwin Court Foodbank and Framework Housing Association later this year to see first-hand how the donations are supporting local communities and creating lasting impact, and we look forward to welcoming even more social value applications in 2027.”
For more information on Darwin Court and the Peabody Community Foundation visit: https://www.peabody.org.uk/your-community/community-centres/darwin-court/
For more information on Framework Charity and their Digital Inclusion Project, visit: https://www.frameworkha.org/news/detail/why-we-deliver-the-digital-inclusion-project/
For more information on NHMF frameworx, visit: https://www.nhmfframeworx.org.uk/
